Indian Driver's Car Accident Causes Chaos Across the United States

Recently, an Indian-American truck driver caused chaos across the United States.

On August 12, a truck caused an accident in Florida, resulting in three deaths. After being arrested in California, the truck driver, Harjinder Singh, was found to be an illegal immigrant from India who "could not speak English," yet he had obtained a driver's license in Washington State and California successively.

At once, this accident sparked heated discussions across the United States, with foreign drivers becoming a focal point of debate between the two political parties. The Republicans took the opportunity to hype up the issues of immigration and foreign worker visas. Florida pointed the finger at California Governor Newsom, stating that they would seek to extradite the driver to Florida.

The response from the Trump administration pushed public opinion to another high point. On August 21 local time, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio announced the suspension of visa issuance for truck drivers. Previously, the U.S. Transportation Secretary vowed to strictly enforce the English language requirements for truck drivers.

"Starting today, we will suspend the issuance of work visas for all commercial truck drivers," Rubio announced on the social media platform X on August 21. "More and more foreign drivers are driving trucks on American roads, not only endangering the lives of Americans but also harming the livelihoods of American truck drivers."

According to reports from U.S. political news website Politico and Associated Press, this is the latest measure in a series of actions taken by the Trump administration to combat foreign labor. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently stated that to ensure safety, the English language standards for truck drivers will be strictly enforced.

Axios news website pointed out that drivers born abroad are an important part of the U.S. trucking industry. Data shows that about 18% of current truck drivers were immigrants last year. The report said that although Rubio's order may not necessarily jeopardize the status of these drivers, it may prevent new drivers from entering the industry or hinder existing drivers from renewing their licenses.

The report said that this move was announced after the fatal accident on Florida's toll road on August 12.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's investigation, a truck caused an accident on a Florida highway due to an "illegal U-turn," resulting in three deaths.

The investigation found that the driver, Harjinder Singh, obtained a regular long-term commercial driver's license in Washington State in July 2023, which he was not eligible for. It also showed that he obtained a limited non-resident commercial driver's license in California in July 2024.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that Harjinder Singh is from India and entered the country illegally.

In April, President Trump signed an executive order requiring the Department of Transportation to ensure that drivers who do not meet the English language requirements cannot drive on the road. In May, Duffy called for stricter English language standards for truck drivers and a nationwide audit of states issuing non-resident commercial driver's licenses to non-U.S. citizens.

However, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Singh failed the English language test during a field compliance inspection by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. He answered only two out of 12 oral questions correctly and correctly identified only one out of four highway sign identification questions.

Duffy stated when announcing the investigation: "If the states strictly followed the rules, this driver would never have been on the road, and three precious lives would not have been lost. This accident was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and shocking failures."

The Associated Press noted that this accident incident has intensified the immigration dispute between Florida's Republican Governor DeSantis and California's Democratic Governor Newsom. Florida strongly criticized California's governance of illegal immigration, citing that Singh had obtained a driver's license in California.

"Because of Newsom and the failure of California's policies, three people lost their lives," Jay Collins, Florida's deputy governor, stated at a press conference on the 21st. He said he would personally extradite Singh from California to Florida.

Newsom's spokesperson described Collins' trip to California as "showboating" and criticized Florida officials for letting a "murder suspect go free." According to reports, Singh fled to California after causing the accident in Florida on the 12th and was eventually arrested in California on the 16th.

On the morning of August 21 local time, Singh was extradited back to Florida to stand trial. U.S. officials said that Singh will be deported after the case concludes.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1841156926754823/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.